Aureos Capital, a private equity fund management company focused on emerging markets, says it has seen a rapid acceleration in the number of full exits achieved from its first generation funds during 2010 compared with previous years. Speaking at the ninth Annual Aureos Investor Conference held at the Marriott Hotel in London this week, Aureos Advisers’ chief executive Sev Vettivetpillai told the 200 plus delegates that eight full exits have been achieved from Aureos’ funds so far during 2010, compared with only one full exit in the previous year. A further two partial exits have also been executed this year.

Oakley Capital Private Equity has invested in BDO Investment Management, a UK provider of wealth management and corporate benefits services, by acquiring an 84.4 per cent majority stake.   BDO LLP, the UK member firm of the BDO international network which is the world’s fifth largest accountancy organisation, will sell the majority stake to Oakley Capital and will retain a 15.6 per cent share in the company.    The partnership with Oakley Capital will provide BDO Investment Management with the necessary capital to fulfill its stated strategy of building scale by growing discretionary funds under management and adding corporate clients.   

Axa Private Equity has acquired an 11 per cent interest in Arismore, a provider of information systems conversion and security. Created in 2002, Arismore focuses mainly on the architecture and control of information systems, access and identity management and the simplification of companies’ IT infrastructure. Arismore has also developed programmes for managing quality of service and capacity, as well as groupware applications. Owned by its founders and employees, Arismore’s workforce numbers some 100 employees based in the Paris area. Axa Private Equity is seeking to support and advise the Arismore management team on its ongoing development. Laurent Foata, director, venture

Venture capitalists put EUR916m into 198 deals for European companies in the third quarter in 2010, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. This is the lowest quarterly deal count for Europe since Dow Jones VentureSource began tracking the region ten years ago. Despite a 25 per cent drop in deal flow from 263 deals in the third quarter of 2009, investment rose six per cent from EUR866 m.   In the third quarter, every major industry recorded a year-on-year decrease in investment and deal flow except healthcare, which maintained its position as the largest sector, and consumer services, which overtook information

Wellspring Capital Management has closed Wellspring Capital Partners V with capital commitments totaling USD1.2bn. Fund V is Wellspring’s largest fund to date, bringing the firm’s assets under management to more than USD3bn.  Fund V’s limited partners include institutional investors from the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia.    The fund will continue to pursue Wellspring’s investment objective to acquire or invest in middle-market companies that are well-positioned to capitalise on change and can benefit from Wellspring’s operating and financial expertise.  Wellspring has the flexibility to complete transactions ranging from USD50m to USD2bn in total value in a wide range of industries. 

Emerging markets are generating increasingly high returns for private equity investors and could soon account for the lion’s share of deals, according to a study from IESE Business School and The Boston Consulting Group. However, the most attractive markets are not necessarily the ones that have captured the headlines in the past, and the key success factors for investors differ significantly from those that have worked in developed countries. The study, which is based on an analysis of the largest data set of its kind, reveals that emerging markets’ share of deals has increased steadily from five per cent in

RoundTable Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, has acquired a majority interest in Salter Labs. Founded in 1976 by Peter Salter, Salter is a manufacturer of disposable respiratory and sleep diagnostics products used in both the home medical and acute care markets.  "Salter represents an exciting opportunity for RoundTable to enter the respiratory market," says Lester B. Knight, founding partner and co-chairman of RoundTable.  "We are looking forward to partnering with the management team and employees of Salter as they expand on their successful track record of developing and marketing innovative products."  Knight will

Fortress Investment Group has priced Whistler Blackcomb’s initial public offering of 25,000,000 common shares at CAD12.00 per share. The offering will generate total gross proceeds of CAD300m. Proceeds of the offering will be used to facilitate the acquisition of a 75 per cent interest in the partnerships that own the Whistler Blackcomb resort in British Columbia from Intrawest ULC. The closing of the offering is scheduled for 9 November, subject to customary closing conditions. The Toronto Stock Exchange has conditionally approved the listing under the symbol WB. Following completion of the offering, Intrawest ULC, an entity primarily owned by certain